DS Reader

[wraggster]

Heres an entry into the GBAX Coding Comp 2007 (http://gbax.gp2x.de/gbax2007.html).

Release from Eddie Park

eBook reader for Nintendo DS with customizable TrueType font rendering. Requires DLDI patching.

Download Here (http://psp-news.dcemu.co.uk/DSReader.zip)

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

[DanTheManMS]

Warning: MAKE A "DSReader" FOLDER ON THE ROOT OF YOUR CARD FIRST!

If the folder is not present, DSReader will create the folder itself. On my Supercard miniSD, this corrupted my card and I had to restore the data from my backups.

If you create the folder yourself however, it's a really cool program that's worth checking out. The ability to use fonts I normally use throughout Windows is very nice, and the ability to change font sizes on the fly is also great. My only wish is that the scrolling could be made in smaller increments than one page. For instance, with Moonshell you can just scroll one line at a time, whereas with DSReader you must scroll one page at a time.

[XDelusion]

This is the first Ebook reader I think I've EVER used that actually worked as good, if not better than the Built in Ebook reader on my GBAMP v2.

Thank you VERY much!

[brainsolid]

it is cool homebrew! But how about russion texts? (i mean coding?

[rkovas]

Nice work.Does it support chinese & japanese chars?

[GameGeezer]

Nice program. I wanted to note that it seems to have trouble with long file names when using bookmarks. If bookmarks don't seem to work look in the library section under bookmarks and change the file name of the document being read to the one referenced in the library and it seems to work fine.

[Tegamal]

I can't get it to read some of my txt files. I have over 12 ebooks already on my DS that I use Moonshell with, but DSReader will not load them correctly.

The Alice in Wonderland that comes with it works fine, I also loaded the entire chronological order to all the Star Wars Extended Universe novels, which also works with a few added "[EDIT]"s added in.

Anyone know why the rest of my txt files will not read? They still work in Moonshell.

[virusak]

Nice program. I wanted to note that it seems to have trouble with long file names when using bookmarks. If bookmarks don't seem to work look in the library section under bookmarks and change the file name of the document being read to the one referenced in the library and it seems to work fine.

Yeah the bookmarks only work for filenames shorter than 5 (not sure now) letters (the bookmarks save the last 5 letters of the original filename), and now i have a folder with about 100 books, so it is impossible to change all the names so they will only be 5 letter long :mad:

[neutral_insomniac]

Another really really cool feature would be to allow the DS to go vertical like a real book. I'm not sure how difficult it would be to implement this, but there's no doubt it would be the most badass thing ever. Especially with your beautiful interface. Just my two cents :)

[ab_geee_eee]

Thank you! I was searching for one! Thank you again!

[Gonzo]

I wonder why everyone is so keen to use both screens for book readers. Nobody can read from both screens at the same time. One Page of text would mean using a lot less battery power.

Good bookreader all the same.. Good Job!!

[spinal_cord]

It does need a side ways option, I personally use http://forum.gbadev.org/viewtopic.php?t=12810 for my ebooks.

[Gawker]

I like eBook reading. I did a lot of it on my PSP but since getting into DS homebrew (thanks to The Phantom Hourglass) I have been experimenting with various homebrew programs including eBook readers.

spinal_cord : I have tried both DS Reader and the one you linked to. I too like the sideways "bookish" orientation of the reader in your link and I especially liked the touchscreen operation of page turning, but I think the overall GUI needs a lot of work.

On the other hand I think the GUI of DS Reader is VERY polished and I love it...however, the bookmarks don't work well, there's no sideways orientation, and no touchscreen navigation for pages.

IMO, and I don't know if the author will see this...I think that if DS Reader had the menu slide out from the left side of the screen you would be able to tap the top of the screen to go back a page, and the bottom of the screen to go forward a page. Also, this would leave it wide open for a sideways orientation option without having to change the menu or page operations, simply the text orientation as the top of the screen would then be the left and bottom the right.

I wish that DS Reader was open source because I'd even like to take a crack at changing things around a bit to play with. I think with better bookmark support and some added functions from the other reader DS Reader would be the ultimate in eBook reader homebrews.

[Akoi Meexx]

I hate to necro an old post like this, but does anyone know of a homepage for DS Reader, or a way to contact the author? It would be nice to see further development on this, as I'd really like vertical orientation available like ReadMore or DSLibris(Neither of which run particularly well for me... ReadMore won't open anything I throw at it).

I love the ability to use TT fonts, not to mention adjust the size and the drawing method. And as Gawker stated, the GUI is so nice and slick.


Edit: And bookmarks have never really been a big deal for me, as long as it starts back at the last section I was at in the document I'm happy.

[bygg83]

How do i add fonts to DS reader and what would be a good font to use?

[bygg83]

where do i get books for the DS reader?

[crookedmouth]

where do i get books for the DS reader?


You can find some books in .TXT format but any .PDF file's text can be made into a .TXT file.

There is a program that converts some common ebook formats into .TXT format.

Common formats for ebooks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats

Example of Program that converts
http://www.ice-graphics.com/ICEReader/IndexE.html
(http://www.ice-graphics.com/ICEReader/IndexE.html)

[bygg83]

You can find some books in .TXT format but any .PDF file's text can be made into a .TXT file.

There is a program that converts some common ebook formats into .TXT format.

Common formats for ebooks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats

Example of Program that converts
http://www.ice-graphics.com/ICEReader/IndexE.html
(http://www.ice-graphics.com/ICEReader/IndexE.html)

Thankyou, I think this is a great book reader

[cutterjohn]

I prefer dsLibris myself, but then, now that I've managed to resurrect my TRG XTRA XTRA PRO upgraded IIIx, I'm back to using that as my primary device for reading e-texts.

Trying to read on color screen always bugged me, so even though I had other newer, color handhelds, I always ended up using the monos for reading and just preferred the Palm for that. (Also have a Franklin eBookman, Agenda VR, VTECH Helio, etc. Also had a Gemstar(Rocket) Reader which was the greatest of them all if a little large, sadly it's a bit on the dead side ATM. Need to try resurrecting that one again as my next project, since I just managed to resurrect the IIIx.)


Or even better, maybe be able to justify springing for a Kindle in the not too distant future, or maybe they'll drop the MSRP on it to a reasonable level, as I find $400 to be a bit steep for something that is really only useful for reading e-texts. Still a nice device by all accounts, and you CAN fairly easily(as I understand it) put your own texts on it unlike their original video and specs indicated, as they seemed to prefer pushing their email them the document and we'll convert it for you for a fee service...

[PigVenus]

Wow! This is such a great eBook reader.

Things I love about DSReader:

1) Black screen/white text offers great contrast and is eye-easy at night.

2) Fonts are smooth and not jagged. Also, resizeable to make the text more readable.

3) Ability to configure display to both, top, or bottom screens. (I like both as it involves less page turning. However, at night using the top only is nice as it rests on my chest.)

4) Multiple bookmarks for multiple books

5) Sideways text. At first I preferred ReadMore's "like a book" format, but I've come to like DSReader's orientation more as it results is less right-justification issues.


Now, after lavishing must deserved praise, here are some areas that I think need improvement (rank ordered from most crucial to least):

1) "Instant" bookmark (Start button?) This would make it really easy to bookmark before turning off the DS. Likewise, use the Select button for Instant load (the last save done using the Instant save).

2) Filenames of more than 5 characters

3) Fix for repeated words/phrases between screen-breaks. About 1 out of 3 page breaks has extra repeated words. More annoying than anything - you get used to it after awhile.

4) Bookmark manager would be nice. Not essential, but it would be nice to remove bookmarks for books that you are done with.

Great job on this, this is the best DS book reader I've found (comparing to ReadMore and Moonshell).

[DanTheManMS]

Filenames can be more than 5 characters long, but you have to remove all spaces in order for bookmarks to work.

[Aijin]

Is it compatible with the R4 SDHC? I keep getting problems with it...can anyone help me?

[mojotiger]

Are there any homebrew applications for reading ebooks in different formats?

[policrat]

Not really. Moonshell does txt and docs, DSorganize does txt and html. I'm not sure how formatting goes.

DSlibris does xhtml, though Plucker support looks possible (https://woozle.org/~neale/blog/2008-09-20.DSLibris/).

[Mr.Peanut]

GBA book reader http://www.bookreader.co.uk/ is still the best book reader for the DS, even though it uses only 1 screen, and texts must be preprocessed on your pc.

I personally hate book readers that make me hold the ds on its side, like a book. The more words that can be squished on one line the more fluid the reading of text becomes. Having only 5 words per line is like reading one of those books for the visually impaired. 5 words per line is great if all you read is haiku, but for more serious reading it is useless.

[policrat]

GBA book reader http://www.bookreader.co.uk/ is still the best book reader for the DS, even though it uses only 1 screen, and texts must be preprocessed on your pc.

I assume you need a slot-2 device here.

Poetry aside, reading it 'bookishly' suits me just fine. I've probably read half a dozen novels end-to-end, and countless short stories and other things. I'd say, by preference: 1.) DSlibris - formatting xhtml/mark-ups is tedious, but looks effective. 2.) DS Reader - I had this around intended for poetry, but the screen is still not wide enough to be fully functional. 3. Everything else.

Also, I wouldn't recommend the DS as a reader for any visually impaired person.

edit: Actually after some (subpixel) fine-tuning, DS Reader is probably equal to DSlibris. I still miss markup.

[DanTheManMS]

Yeah, you need a slot-2 device for GBA Book Reader, but I do agree that the ability to specify chapter locations and the ability to scroll in variable increments is rather nice.

For DSReader, I found my favorite setup to be size 10 Arial font, white text on black background, with dark subpixel antialiasing. Very readable.

[lockie64]

Can anyone help me out and post the contents of the settings.dat file for Arial standard font size 12 with a black background? For some reason the settings.dat file will corrupt itself and stop dsreader from loading if i try and use the set up options in the program. Thanks very much!